Swiping Safe: Ensuring Trust and Safety (T&S) in the Modern Dating Landscape

As online dating platforms face growing user expectations, evolving risks, and heightened regulatory scrutiny, T&S has become a strategic imperative rather than a support function. This Viewpoint explores the critical role T&S plays in fostering safer user experiences and protecting brand trust in a deeply personal and high-risk digital environment. It examines the primary drivers compelling enterprises to invest in robust T&S programs, including the need to combat romance scams, deepfake content, and off-platform abuse and outlines the key operational challenges involved in scaling these efforts across regions, cultures, and threat vectors.

The report also highlights how leading platforms are investing across technology, people, policy, and process to strengthen T&S systems. It emphasizes the increasing importance of external partnerships to extend global coverage, accelerate response capabilities, and provide specialized support. As outsourcing models evolve, platforms are demanding more strategic alignment, domain expertise, and measurable impact from providers. Ultimately, the report underscores that building safer dating ecosystems requires integrated, user-centered approaches anchored in collaboration, adaptability, and long-term commitment to safety as a core business priority.